Barbara Guest
| birth_place = Wilmington, North Carolina | death_date = February | death_place = Berkeley, California | occupation = American poet | spouse = }} Barbara Guest (September 6, 1920 - February 15, 2006) was an American poet and literary critic most often associated with the New York School. Life Guest was born Barbara Ann Pinson in Wilmington, North Carolina and raised in California. She earned a B.A. in General Curriculum-Humanities in 1943 at the University of California, Berkeley. She spent years in New York City where she became involved with the New York School Poets. Guest also wrote art criticism, essays, and plays. Her collages appeared on the covers of several of her books of poetry. She was also well-known for her book on the poet H.D., Herself Defined: The poet H.D. and her world (1984). Writing Guest wrote more than 15 books of poetry spanning 60 years of writing. "Her poems begin in the midst of action," wrote Peter Gizzi in his introduction to a collection of her work, "but their angle of perception is oblique."Guest, p. xvii Her poems are known for their abstract quality, vivid language, and intellectualism. She believed that the subject of the poem finds itself through the writing of the poem and through the poet's imagination. "Disturbing the conventional relations of subjects and objects, of reality and imagination, is one of Guest's signature gestures," noted Gizzi.Guest, p. xviii Michael Palmer: “To speak with Barbara Guest about poetry was always to be in the presence of a fiercely uncompromised vision of the art and its obligations. Her insights continually astonished me. They were beholden to no one. And the work itself, of a lyric intelligence entirely her own. For whatever reasons, and I can sadly imagine many, it has not received its full due, but it will. The music insists.”"When I Say The Word Home, I Almost Whisper It" Recognition In 1999, she was awarded the Frost Medal for Lifetime Achievement by the Poetry Society of America. Publications Poetry *''The Location of Things'', Tibor de Nagy Press, 1960. *''Poems: The Location of things, Archaics, The open skies''. Doubleday, 1963. *''The Blue Stairs''. Corinth Books, 1968. *''I Ching: Poems and lithographs'' (illustrated by Sheila Isham). Mourlot, 1969. *''Moscow Mansions''. New York: Viking, 1973. *''The Countess from Minneapolis''. Providence, Ri: Burning Deck, 1976. *''The Tuerler Losses''. Mansfield Press, 1980. *''Biography''. Providence, RI: Burning Deck, 1981. *''Quilts''. Vehicle Editions, 1981. *''The Nude'' (lithographs by Warren Brandt). New York: Art Editions, 1986. *''Fair Realism''. Sun & Moon Press, 1988. *''The Altos'' (illustrated by Richard Tuttle). Sun & Moon Press, 1991. *''Defensive Rapture''. Sun & Moon Press, 1993. *''Selected Poems''. Sun & Moon Press, 1995. *''Stripped Tales''. Kelsey Street Press, 1995. *''Etruscan Reader VI'' (by Robin Blaser, Barbara Guest, & Lee Harwood). South Devonshire, UK: Etruscan Books, 1998.Search results=Robin Blaser, WorldCat, Web, Mar. 28, 2017. Novel *''Seeking Air''. Black Sparrow Press, 1978. Non-fiction *''Robert Goodnough, Painter'' (With B.H. Friedman). Musee de Poche, 1962. *''Herself Defined: The poet H.D. and Her world'' (biography). Doubleday, 1984. *''Musicality'' (illustrated by June Felter). Kelsey St. Press, 1988. *''Rocks on a Platter: Notes on literature''. Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press, 2000. Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy the Poetry Foundation.Barbara Guest 1920-2006, Poetry Foundation, Web, Sep. 27, 2012. Plays *The Ladies Choice, produced in New York at Artists Theatre, 1953. *The Office, produced in New York at Cafe Chino, 1961. *Port, produced in New York at American Theatre for Poets, 1965. Audio / video *''The Location of Things'' (cassette). Washington, DC: Watershed Foundation, 1984. *''Barbara Guest & Madeline Gins'' (cassette). Buffalo, NY: State University of New York at Buffalo / Granolithic Productions, 1996. Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy WorldCat.Search results = au:Barbara Guest + audiobook, WorldCat, OCLC Online Computer Library Center Inc. Web, Oct. 2, 2015. See also *New York School poets *List of U.S. poets References External links ;Poems *Three poems by Barbara Guest at Jacket *Barbara Guest profile & 6 poems at the Academy of American Poets. * Barbara Guest 1920-2006 at the Poetry Foundation. *Barbara Guest (1920-2006) @ EPC (Electronic Poetry Center). *Poetry by Barbara Guest ;Audio / video *Barbara Guest at PennSound. *Barbara Guest at YouTube *Movie of Barbera Guest Reading her Poetry ;Books *Barbara Guest at Amazon.com ;About *Barbara Guest, Pioneering Poet of the New York School, Is Dead at 85 New York Times obituary. *[http://www.scc.rutgers.edu/however/v1_1_1999/rbgendered.html "The Gendered Marvelous: Barbara Guest, surrealism, and feminist reception"] essay on Guest by Rachel Blau DuPlessis *When I Say the Word Home, I Almost Whisper It Tribute & Remembrance on the passing of Guest *Barbara Guest Memory Bank A gathering of brief memoirs and BG poems (selected by her readers) to honor the life and writing of Barbara Guest *Review of 'The Red Gaze' at poetry magazine "Intercapillary Space" *[http://humanities.uchicago.edu/orgs/review/index_53_4.shtml Chicago Review special issue] on Guest *"'Selfish Enchantments': Barbara Guest and the Nature of Arrangement" by U.S. poet Ben Lerner,New American Writing #27 ;Etc. *"Add-Verse" a poetry-photo-video project Guest participated in Category:American poets Category:Modernist women writers Category:New York School poets Category:1920 births Category:2006 deaths Category:People from Wilmington, North Carolina Category:20th-century poets Category:20th-century women writers Category:English-language poets Category:Poets Category:University of California, Berkeley alumni Category:Women poets Category:American women writers